


Flowers

by discordiansamba



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 16:26:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6058120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/discordiansamba/pseuds/discordiansamba
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Forging new friendships can be made easier through the use of shared hobbies.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Flowers

It was the first day of spring break, and also the first day of Danny's week long vacation with his mother. Determined to have a normal vacation with her son for a change, the woman had taken it upon herself to plan a hopefully evil plot free vacation. Although he resisted at first, eventually, Danny had relented, and decided to go with his mother. He had left early in the morning, and Sam and Tucker had seen him off.

Sam was also the welcome committee for someone coming to stay in Amity Park during the week, someone who would be spending the week with her. Tucker had work to do at his part time job at the computer store, so he wasn't available when Dani Phantom arrived in Amity Park, ready to hold down the fort while Danny Phantom was away.

Sam and Tucker knew about Danny's clone- or cousin, as she understandably preferred being called, but had never really gotten much of a chance to speak with her. And Sam found herself being intrigued by the girl, so she had easily accepted Danny's request that she stay with her while he was away. It was lucky that her parents were away on business for the week as well, and that the household servants were rather good at keeping quiet when asked politely. Her parents would have no idea about their little guest, one that Sam was currently showing the house to.

"And this is my greenhouse!" Sam told the younger girl, grinning as she unlocked the doors to let them inside. Dani peered around, visibly impressed by the wide array of plants within it's confines. It was a rare thing that Sam and her parents agreed on, her mother was enthralled with the idea of her daughter actually having a 'girly' interest like gardening, and spared no expense to ensure that she had whatever she needed.

"I didn't think someone like you would be so interested in gardening." Dani said after a moment, picking up a pot which held an array of red daises. "Are these daises?" She asked her.

"They are! In the language of flowers, they mean beauty unknown to the possessor. In general, the daisy means innocence, but red daisies hold a special meaning." Sam told her. "Do you like flowers, Dani?" She asked.

"I didn't know flowers meant anything." Dani told her, setting the pot back down. "And I don't really know, to be honest." She frowned a little, uncertain. "I guess I think they're pretty. I don't know anything about them, though."

"Of course they do." Sam flashed a quick grin, glad that she caught the girl's interest. "Almost every flower in here has some sort of meaning." She told her, pointing over towards hibiscus flowers. "The hibiscus, for example means rare or delicate beauty. And over there, the snowdrop flowers can mean consolation or hope." Sam explained. "Well, there's more than one fixed meaning for some of these flowers, especially when you consider that the Japanese have their own language of flowers, called Hanakotoba."

"You sound like you know a lot about them." Dani observed, wandering around the greenhouse.

"You could say that. Growing flowers, and other plants is sort of my hobby." She told her. "I also grow my own food, because it's both economically sound and provides assurance that what I eat isn't touched by harmful pesticides."

"But aren't you rich?" Dani asked, looking back at Sam. "You could have no problem just buying whatever you want."

"It's true." The goth girl shrugged her shoulders. "But this way is better. Besides, tending to a garden teaches you respect for nature." She laughed a little. "Even if my passion for nature did get me brainwashed once. That was... embarrassing, to put it lightly."

"I heard about that." Dani couldn't help but grin a little. "Oh, there's sunflowers! Now those I know!" She brightened, heading over towards the tall flowers, which towered over her tiny thirteen year old body. "What do sunflowers mean, Sam?"

"Pure and lofty thoughts." Sam told her. "Or thereabouts."

"Is it cause they're so tall?" Dani grinned, glancing back at her.

"Could be." Sam shrugged her shoulders, joining her. "Not all flowers have pleasant meanings, though." She said, pointing to a hydrangea bush. "Hydrangea flowers mean heartlessness, for example, and lavender can just as easily mean distrust as it can devotion."

"Sounds complicated." Dani said with a small frown. "Are these flowers too?" She asked, peering at some closed up buds.

"Sure are. They're moonflowers though, so they only bloom at night." Sam explained. "They're pretty though. They mean 'dreaming of love.'"

"Did you plant them thinking about my cousin?" Dani asked, unable to help quirking a grin. Sam flushed bright red at this question, coughing to cover it up. "I'm a little less clueless than he is. I'm his clone you know, so I've got more than just a few of his memories. Don't worry, I won't tell him." She said, a sly expression on her face.

"Does that ever get weird, you know, having memories that aren't yours?" Sam asked.

"A little." Dani admitted after a second. "I want to be my own person, you know, but it's a bit difficult when you're supposed to be a clone of someone else. Even if you're not the same gender or age." She confessed.

"Hm." Sam frowned, considering this. "Well, it's sort of like this, Dani. Why were you surprised to find out I liked gardening and flowers?"

Dani blinked, considering the question. "Well, because you're goth. And flowers are kind of girly. You didn't seem like the type." She told her.

"Goth is just a label that people put on me, and while it's not one I object to, it doesn't define the whole of who I am." Sam told her, shrugging her shoulders. "I'm who I make myself be, and nothing else. Just like I'm not defined by 'goth' or by 'vegetarian', you aren't defined by being Danny's clone or by being half-ghost."

"Just because you're a clone doesn't mean you can't be your own person, Dani. You share DNA with Danny sure, but so do Jazz and his parents. Not as much, I admit." Sam said. "But they do. And DNA decides what a person looks like, if they're more prone to disease or have any disorders, and how fast or slow their metabolism is, but they don't define a person. The personality and interests of a person, as well as their actions are all that define a person."

"And you have different interests than Danny." Sam told her. "I've only been talking to you for a few minutes, and I can tell that much. Danny doesn't care about flowers at all." She laughed. "He got pretty bored when I tried to explain the language of flowers to him. Fell asleep, even. But it caught your interest, and you asked questions. That's a difference." She pointed out. 

"And even in your similarities, you're still your own person. People can have similar interests, Tucker, Danny and I all like some of the same bands. It doesn't make us any less unique." Sam told her. "Similar interests are what help tie people together, what makes them friends. Or enemies, sometimes." She laughed.

"That's true, isn't it?" Dani brightened. "Maybe I was over thinking things." She said after a moment. Spotting a tree growing off to one side, she wandered over to it, Sam following along beside her. "What's this tree, then?" She asked her. "It's with your food plants, is it an apple tree or something?"

"Pear tree, actually." Sam told her. "Right now it only has blossoms, but eventually there will be ripe, juicy pears on it. If you like, I can call you when they ripen, and we can have some together. They're pretty tasty fresh off the tree."

"That sounds great!" Dani grinned. "Do the blossoms on the pear tree have any meaning, or do they have to be normal flowers to have them?" She asked.

"Oh, they have a meaning, alright." Sam smiled at her. "Pear blossoms mean 'lasting friendship'." Extending a hand towards the younger girl, she met her eyes. "So how about it Dani? You want to try being friends?" She asked her.

"I'd like that." Dani said after a moment, taking Sam's hand. "I think I'd really like that."


End file.
